What Do You Really Want for Christmas?
by RenaissanceGrrl
Summary: What SHOULD have happened on "A Very Digi Christmas". TAIORA!


DISCLAIMER: I do not own Digimon or any of its characters. I just like to torture them. Please don't sue.  
  
A/N: Ever hear of "Christmas In July"? (I know, there's a Christmas special along those lines. I haven't seen it--just commercials.) Well, here's a nice Christmas fluff fic written on June 30 (or very, very, early on July 1, however you want to figure--it was written in less than half-an-hour, from 3:45 to 4:10 a.m.) and posted on July 5. So this is your Christmas-in-July present to you. Yes, it *IS* based on "A Very Digi Christmas". (Kind of the obvious starting point, eh?)  
The coupling's TAIORA. Say it with me, TAIIIIIORRRRRAAAAA. It is *NOT* Sorato/Yamora. (Whatever name that the fans of it prefer.) So if you're a Yamora fan who might read this, decide it's a good fic, and flame anyway just because you hate the coupling, *click* *the* *back* *button*--*NOW*. There are Takari *hints*, but neither character actually *appears* in here. *NO* Davis bashing! In fact, there's "Davis sympathizing". Had the other charas actually *appeared*, I would've done Daikari, but as such, I decided that I shouldn't go overboard. Between "Deception" (Read it, please, when you finish this--it's my finest piece of digifiction so far) and the fic I'm working on, which is set in the future--where Davis and Kari...well, no, you'll find out when I post it--I think I'm obsessed. I still like to read Takari, but Daikari is easier for me to write.  
Anyway, Happy Holidays! Enjoy!  
  
  
Sora sighed in the evening darkness, standing on the bridge. Things were so messed up.  
She pulled her coat closer as she felt the wind tug at it. It was cold outside, but she couldn't bring herself to go home and inside where it was warm. She deserved to be out alone, in the cold.  
She had had a crush on Matt for several weeks. She'd taken him a box of cookies--his Christmas present--before he had to go onstage at his concert earlier that evening. Things might have been just great if she hadn't run into Tai on her way through the backstage entrance. They'd talked about it for a few minutes. She didn't want to hurt her best friend, but he'd said he was cool with it.   
But...that look in his eyes when he'd said it.  
She was sure those had been tears.  
She heard a laugh off to her left, and saw a young couple heading towards her, to pass by and go on their Merry-Christmas way.  
Why did they look so happy?  
It was Christmas, and you're supposed to spend Christmas with the ones you love.  
Of course, Sora had her parents. Her traditional mother and her quirky father. They both loved her, and for once, her father was home. But, for the first time ever, Sora was longing for a different kind of love this year.  
Matt wasn't the one. As she had handed him the box, he had grinned, and pointed upwards toward a sprig of mistletoe. He had pecked her on the cheek and thanked her for the present, saying he'd open it after the concert, and rushed off to sing. He was too busy. She knew he'd never have the time to love her like she knew she needed to be loved. He was cute, but she needed so much more than looks in a guy.  
She sighed again. The weather had been snowy on and off, so she wasn't surprised when it started to snow.  
She checked her watch. It was getting late, but she wasn't expected home for two more hours. She'd explained to her parents that she hoped Matt would be free after the concert, and would maybe take her on an impromptu date.  
Of course, it hadn't happened. She was almost glad. The glitter of the season might have allowed him to sweep her off her feet, but she wouldn't have been happy for long.  
So she stood, on the bridge, heartbroken on Christmas Eve.  
The town's lights off to her right seemed inviting, but she could not go. The invitation was meant for someone else. Someone who had found happiness.  
She leaned on the rail, tired of thinking about it, but not able to think of anything else.  
She had gone and gotten her heart broken, and broken her best friend's heart in the process.  
Yes. She was positive that Taichi Kamiya had loved her. She just *knew* it, always had. But she had also always chosen to ignore it, thinking herself too young, or close in too different of a way to turn the relationship into romance. Oh, there had been a few times, when saving the world, that her emotions had overtaken her, and she had clung to him. But they were..."just friends".   
She knew he had been hoping for something more. She had seen it in his eyes just a few hours before. She had hurt Tai terribly by even liking Matt, but he had loved her enough to let her go. And now that she had come to the conclusion that it was just a crush, Tai would never speak to her again. She'd hurt him too badly. Even though he loved her, and she would gladly run to him with open arms and give him her heart, his pride was at stake. He hated her now, she was sure of it.  
She stared out at the river for a while, until she was aware of a break in the light coming from the town. Someone else was walking by. Someone from school, because whoever it was had the yellow paw print on their coat.  
Oh no. It was Tai, and it was too late to run. Well, the last bitter words he'd ever say to her were better off coming sooner than later.  
"Hi," she said, nervously.  
"Hi," he returned, softly. "I thought you said you were going to be with Matt. But, I heard that things didn't go so well."  
Sora looked away. "Remind me to kill your sister later," she muttered. She'd told Kari, and Kari had obviously passed it along to her older brother.  
Tai smiled. "Can you at least wait until after the holidays? She said something about not being able to die happy until she caught T.K. under the mistletoe, and I want to be sure she has plenty of opportunity."  
Sora laughed. "I knew it. Those two will be so cute together."  
"Yeah, he's a good kid. I guess I can let him date her. Heck, if I can't trust a fellow *DigiDestined* to treat her right, who *can* I trust?"  
He was honestly making her feel better, but she didn't want to feel better. Here she was, being comforted by the boy whose heart she'd just broken. She didn't deserve this. "Well, I just feel sorry for whoever has to break it to Davis."  
"Yeah, well, I feel sorry for Davis. He's a good kid, too, you know. He and Kari would do okay. But she just can't see it." Tai sighed. He would have liked hanging out with Davis more often. Since they, the older kids, couldn't go back and forth to the DigiWorld at free will, mentoring Davis was Tai's way of helping out, and it made him feel like he had an active part in what went on.  
Sora nodded. "He *is* a good kid, but it's Kari's choice. I know a lot of people who just can't see who they belong with until it's too late."  
Tai blushed and looked away. Sora herself came to mind. "Look, I know you had a thing for Matt, but he's taken. He's married--"  
"What?!" Sora gasped.  
Tai sighed again. "I was going to say, he's married--to his music. He may be handsome, and he may be polite and flirty to the girls, but he's not going to go through girl after girl after girl. He doesn't want to look like the type of celebrity who spends his life flitting from chick to chick. He's waiting until the right girl comes along so he can devote all his spare time to her."  
Sora nodded. "And I wasn't her. I'm glad I found out today, though. I'd rather know now than to have been his girlfriend for a while before it dawned on me. I'm glad things worked out like they did."  
Tai hmphed. Then he turned his attention back to making intelligent conversation. "So, Sora, what do you want for Christmas?"  
"I had been hoping for a boyfriend, but it wasn't meant to be. Matt's not right for me."  
"Well, what are you really looking for, then, Sora?"  
Sora blushed. "Well, I want a guy who's sensitive, nice, who treats me like a lady, who likes to hang out with the gang and not hog me to himself. And, well, a tall, brown-eyed, brunette would be nice, but I'm not going to fuss over looks. And I want--I want him to be my closest friend, like a brother as well as my boyfriend. I want us to be really close."  
Tai leaned over the rail like she had been. "Well, I hope you find him, Sora." He sighed. "You aren't the only one who was disappointed this year."  
She blinked. "What happened?"  
"You and I both grew up a lot since last Christmas, Sora. I had been hoping to--talk with--someone--oh, nevermind."  
"A girl?"  
"Yeah."  
"Well, since it fell through, why don't you tell me what *you're* looking for?"  
Tai raised an eyebrow up to his hairline. "Well...okay. I want a girl who's sweet and nice, but can hold her own when hanging with the guys, who's compassionate, who cares about my friends, and swears I'm the best kisser ever."  
She bopped his arm playfully. "Baka! I know it's not the main thing, but what do you think she'll look like?"  
"Um...well...shorter than me. Pretty. Big brown eyes that lead to her soul...um...short hair. Shoulder-length. That curls up. Short, coppery hair."  
Sora blinked. Tai was describing *her*!  
Tai backed off a step. "Hey, listen, I really ought to get going. Sorry about Matt."  
"Don't be. It wasn't meant to be, and it wasn't your fault."  
"Are you sure you're okay, Sora?" Tai reached out and took her hand.  
She blushed, but did not pull back from the touch. She squeezed his hand. "Yeah. I'd rather know it's not right than be deceived into thinking it is."  
"Sora, do you--are you feeling hurt, or if you met that guy right now, would you be okay to--to go on with him and be happy?"  
Sora frowned. What was Tai driving at, anyway? He couldn't mean-- "I'm fine. Really. That whole Matt thing was just a crush."  
He still had a hold on her hand as he turned himself to face her. He leaned in a bit closer to her. At least he wasn't angry. Sora would have hated herself if he had completely pushed her away. He wasn't doing that at all. They were just standing on the bridge, hand-in-hand, not talking.  
"I feel like a goof just standing here," he said, his voice suddenly full of emotion. She still said nothing.  
His other hand reached up, and rested on her shoulder. Sora leaned back a bit, not knowing what was going on. She started to blush as he leaned in even closer.  
She could notice every tiny detail of the moment. His mop of hair brushed against her forehead, tickling slightly as he moved closer. At this point there was no doubt as to what he was going to do. Her eyes searched his, their noses brushed. She was on the verge of her first kiss. Her mouth was open just slightly in shock, and he was just determined. He paused for just a second. They closed their eyes, and at last, their mouths met.  
Sora felt his lips press against hers. She responded, kissing back. It felt so amazing. She could feel his hand move from her shoulder to go down and encircle her waist. She put her own free hand on his chest, clutching at his coat. The hands that they'd been holding were now twining fingers together, holding tighter than before.  
They stayed like that for a few minutes, and he didn't dare pull away, knowing that once he did, she'd push him away and out of her life forever. Until he felt a wetness on his cheeks.  
Sora felt him move away and let go of her. He raised his hand to his cheek and wiped away the wet stuff. It took him a few seconds to realize that it was her tears. His face had been so close to hers that her tears had fallen on his cheeks. That amazed him.  
"Sora, did I...did I scare you?"  
"No, Tai."  
"Well, go ahead, slap me. Push me away. Say you'll never speak to me again."  
"Taichi..."  
He looked up. She only called him that when she was being really serious. "Yes?"  
"Taichi, you just gave me exactly what I wanted for Christmas."  
"What?"  
"I care about *you*, Taichi. I always have. I was just too thick-headed to realize that my best friend could also be the one I was meant to love. But I know now. I love you, Taichi." She shrank back, scared that he would be scared off by such a bold statement of love, so soon.  
Tai blinked. "Aw...do you mean that, Sora?"  
"Yes. I do. But I know, after the way I treated you, you could never love me."  
Gah! That wasn't right at all! Tai quickly stumbled to fix it. "But I do! I love you, Sora. Ever since as long as I can remember. Why do you think I finally kissed you?"  
She started on a fresh stream of tears.  
"Don't cry. I love you, Sora, and everything is okay. Please...I hate it when you cry." His voice became husky, almost like he was about ready to cry himself. He finally let go of her hand and put both arms around her waist. She reached up and put her arms around his neck, burying her head in his chest.  
"No, no, we can't have this." He lifted one hand just long enough to tilt her face up towards his. He kissed each of her teardrops off her cheeks. Then he kissed the top of her forehead, the tip of her nose, and found his way back to her soft lips. Before he went in for another kiss, he paused to tell her something. His lips ticked hers at certain points, they were so close. "Merry Christmas, Sora."  
"Merry Christmas, Tai. I love you."  
"I love you, too."  
And they kissed again, snow falling all around, Christmas carols ringing in the distance.  
She broke the kiss, just for a second. "You're the best present a girl could ask for, Taichi."  
"I hope Matt doesn't take it too hard when I tell him that his best friend stole his girlfriend," Tai teased, "Because his best friend is not letting her go for all the world."  
Sora smiled. There was nothing more wonderful than being in Tai's arms. "Matt who?"  
Tai just smiled and kissed her again.  
  
  
A/N: I agree with Sora, poor whoever-has-to-break-it-to-Davis. That's the thing with the Takari/Dakari debate. With Takari, you either have Davis-bashing, Davis-death, or kanashii (sad) Davis. But with Dakari, you can convincingly carry it off without bashing or being depressing. T.K. can easily find himself another girl. Like me! I'm available, Takeru! *Over here!* Hey! Put that cell phone away! 911--do you see any injuries around here? Police cars? *Hey!* I didn't do anything! Put me down!...  
  
Until next time...  
  
Review, please! 


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